County supervisors throughout northern Arizona have voiced their support for the Governor's Water Policy Council’s recommendations to modernize the state’s groundwater laws.
Coconino County Supervisor Patrice Horstmann, Yavapai County Supervisor Donna Michaels and Mohave County Supervisor Travis Lingenfelter recently penned a letter in which they applauded the ideas.
The supervisors recounted how they have seen the devastation to rural communities from unsustainable groundwater overuse coupled with historical inaction at the state level to address it.
The plan would establish Rural Groundwater Management Areas in at-risk basins where groundwater supply is threatened. Other recommendations include the implementation of mandatory groundwater monitoring and conservation in addition to limits on new wells and the enactment of local management goals based on climate, the economy and ecological factors.
Any final recommendations will have to come in the form of a bill during the upcoming legislative session.